Communicore Legacies

[Expo_Seeker40]

I'm hoping I can get some help on this. See, I hardly remember Communicore East and West at EPCOT Center. I am just wondering if ANYTHING is left from it, or serves as a reminder of it.

Do the buildings that currently house innoventions, still pretty much look like the exterior look of the Communicore buildings?

Does the overall floor plan remain the same from Communicore's floor plan? I do remmeber the giant floor to ceiling windows, which are still around Innoventions [Decor-Wise], but do the escalators and glass elevators still exist?

Now I know for a while after Communicore closed, the Centorium Gift Shop still existed with that name and decor. Not too long ago it became the Mouse Gears Gift Shop, I didn't go in the gift shop, but is it true that the old Communicore Logo is in the carpeting of Mouse Gears, along with remnants of the Dream Finder's vehicle?

Any help is greatly appreciated. :sohappy:

 

[Number_6]

The interiors are totally different at this point. I know that I have some old pictures of Communicore somewhere, but I would really have to look for the photo albums because it would be my parents old albums and I don't know exactly where in the house they are.

 

[ogryn]

I remember a behind the scenes show, and a build-your-own rollercoaster simulator (with a Beaver???)

 

[Number_6]

I really miss SMRT-1. He was this really neat little robot that would play games with people. One of my favorite things when I would go to Communicore.

 

[TimeTrip]

I remember a behind the scenes show, and a build-your-own rollercoaster simulator (with a Beaver???)

Heh.. i loved that thing. That and the one where you had to put the US flag together before time ran out. I could play that over and over again.

 

[Expo_Seeker40]

The poll the audience theater with the little device on the arm rests.

What became of that room, another gift shop? :lookaroun

 

[marni1971]

Ahh.. Communicore, the Community Core of EPCOT Center!

The buildings and structural support of Innoventions remain the same, but most other things have changed. Communicore used to be big, light and air-y - not like todays dark spotlit interiors. There used to be a central `corridor` that ran from one end of each building to the other, with plenty of space and seating. The exteriors used to be white or cream, very subtle - unlike todays pinks and neon lights.

The Centorium gift shop used to have a mezzanine level, with stair and lift access. This was torn out in the MouseGear conversion. MouseGear incidentally also runs into the old Future Choice Theatre, that used to be at the south end of Communicore East. At the north end of Communicore East was the Backstage Magic show (originally Astuter Computer Revue) which featured a glass walled balcony overlooking EPCOT Computer Central - the hub of EPCOT, where every show was controlled from. This area is still there, its the large windowless section that sticks out towards Energy. I have attatched the floorplan from the 1987 guidebook. Also, WDWMagic has my Spaceship Earth (Cronkite) video - the 2nd half of this video features a lot of Communicore footage, and the entire Backstage Magic show. I will put some stills in my photo album to give an idea of what it looked like compared to Innoventions here:
http://photoalbums.wdwmagic.com/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=6710

 

[marni1971]

Phew... you guys responded quickly whilst i was scanning! Must make my scans smaller...

I`ve put the interior montage in my photoalbum, as mentioned above. Go see!

 

[DigitalDisney]

Innoventions is drastically different than Communicore, but not as much as you may think.

The plaza probably received the most change. There used to be small ponds where the fiber optics walkways now stand. There wasn't a tip board/pin trading booth. And the fountain was just a fountain, and not a large water show.

Inside, the content of the interior changed, but there were not many structural changes. The area that is currently Ice Station Cool and the ex-Imagineering Labs used to be a wide open scientifically-oriented space where you could watch the Expo Robotics show, get a t-shirt painted by a robot, or shop in a store with all sorts of scientific/educational toys.

I believe this section also had a shop called the Epcot Discovery Center, which had a bunch of stuff for teachers, and educational toys. On the wall outside was a giant aerial photo of WDW (I'd love to see that again)

At the other end of the same building there used to be an AT&T exhibit that further explained the present and future of communications. On the other half of this section (I believe), was an American Express Travel Center, where you could plan future trips. I also remember this really funky globe that had light projections in the middle of the section.

In Communicore East, what is now the forest section of the exhibit hall used to have a lot of fun 80s shows/exhibits. Gone is the Backstage Magic (EPCOT Computer Central) show, which took you into EPCOT's main computer room for a look at how WDW is networked together. I wonder if that room still has all of those computers? The preshow had SMRT-1, a talking robot that would play games with you, a game where you would build your own roller coaster, and other touch-screen computer games (I remember a flag-assembly game).

The final exhibit in this section was the Exxon Energy exhibit (near where the GM and Motorola exhibits are now), which further elaborated on the energy themes presented in UOE. I remember there being a giant oil rig here, as well as a display that told you how much energy the solar cells on top of UOE were producing right now. One of the coolest things here was a touch screen game where you controlled a taxi around a city by dragging your finger across the screen.

Finally, the Mouse Gear shop used to be a huge shop called the Centorium. It's still a large shop, but the old shop had so much more. The Centorium used to have an upstairs level, with art gifts (posters, figurines, etc), and the bottom sold t-shirts, candy, etc.

In addition to the shop, this quadrant also had a show called the Epcot Poll, where an audience expressed their opinion about a variety of issues, and a computer tallied it all up and displayed the results on a big projection. I only saw the show a couple times, so I don't remember much about it.

Whew
Ramble, Ramble, Ramble

 

[DarkMeasures]

I don't remember a thing of Communicore. I do, however, remember how different Innoventions was to how it is today.

 

[young9222]

Smrt-1

Last time I was at WDW, SMRT-1 was standing behind the cash register of the restaurant in the Contemporary Resort (I forget the name, the one under the monorail tracks) :animwink:

 

[young9222]

Build Your Own Coaster

Yes, ogryn...it was a beaver that helped you build your own roller coaster. I have a recording I made of this game. Every time you connected two pieces of track together correctly, he'd say "That's shhhwell!"

 

[Captain Hank]

Wow, I think I remember the beaver with the rollercoaster. I only went to Communicore once when I was really young. I also vaguely remember talking to someone over a TV, like primitive videoconferencing. Does anyone else remember this?

 

[dxwwf3]

My gosh I really miss Epcot Center! After reading all of this about Communicore and Centorium, I really wish I was old enough to truely remember the way it used to be there. Big thanks to Martin for the end of the SSE tribute video! It really sparked some memories.

 

[marni1971]

Big thanks to Martin for the end of the SSE tribute video! It really sparked some memories.

You are very welcome!